ls /guides

The guides.
Take what you need.

Seventeen free guides. Straight answers to the hard questions: the gap, the record, the interview, the law. Built from research, current public guidance, and a decade of doing this work face to face.

A workbench with a paper resume laid out beside tools, tape labels reading RESUME, DISCLOSE and PRACTICE

Open source / AGPL-3.0

The Forge, The Refinery and Crucible source code is public under AGPL-3.0, so organizations can inspect it, learn from it, deploy it, and build on it.

SHELF 01

GUIDES

Seventeen substantial guides, written straight and reviewed as laws, platforms, and hiring practices change.

Source standard

Research claims come from traceable sources. Legal and public-resource guidance is checked against current official information.

Update standard

Time-sensitive guides are revised when the underlying rules or platforms change. Material updates go to newsletter subscribers.

9 guides

Getting Hired With a Record

For those navigating barriers to employment

8 guides

Getting Hired

Practical guides for landing the job

SHELF 02

WATCH THE GUIDES

The same practical information in a different format for people who learn better by watching or listening.

YouTube placeholder

Steel Man Resumes

Channel link appears here when it goes live.

One library. More than one way to learn.

Troy will work through the guides on video without watering them down. Watch the explanation, use the written guide as a reference, and choose the format that works for you.

YouTube revenue, when available, will help pay for keeping The Forge and The Refinery free.

Join the newsletter below to get the channel link and the first video as soon as they are ready.

SHELF 03

THE NEWSLETTER

Guide revisions, new videos, open-source news, and practical field notes -- sent when there is something worth opening.

Get The Brief

Get material guide revisions, new video editions, open-source updates, and research-backed career guidance for justice-impacted job seekers and the programs that support them.

No spam. No selling your data. Unsubscribe with one click.

Want personalized guidance?

The free career report analyzes YOUR situation and gives you a custom action plan.

get your free report